Inside USA and Trump's 'floating nuclear city' stalking Iran that doesn't need to refuel for 25 years

With tensions rising between the USA and Iran, a 'floating nuclear city' has been ordered to make its way closer to the Middle Eastern country.

Major protests have been held against Iran's repressive regime which Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described as a 'coup' and met with extreme violence, with thousands killed and the death toll much higher than the official figures claim.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has sent a carrier strike group headed up by the USS Abraham Lincoln towards Iran.

Trump said America 'has the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there, very close, a couple of days', adding that he thought Iran was ready to make 'a deal' on its nuclear programme.

Iranian leaders have warned that any attacks from the US would spark a 'regional war' and that Iran would 'deal a heavy blow' against anyone who attacked them.

The USS Abraham Lincoln has been redirected to waters nearer Iran, it's powered by nuclear reactors so can go 25 years before it needs fuel (Zachary Pearson- U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Nuclear power has changed the face of warfare, not just as warheads but as fuel sources for warships.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier which uses two nuclear reactors to power it and it can go up to 25 years without needing to stop for fuel.

A process called the mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul has to be completed to renew the lifespan of the ship, and for the USS Abraham Lincoln that was done in 2017 so it can go for several more years.

This vessel is a floating city with capacity for thousands of people on board and it doesn't need to stop and guzzle more fuel for years, though the same can't be said of the crew.

The ship's crew are said to consume around $65,000 (£48k) worth of food a day, with 800 loaves of bread and 600 gallons of milk being used up each day, and according to WION, it costs around $2.5 million (£1.8m) a day to operate, with that money going on crew salaries, food and maintenance on the ship.

It's an aircraft carrier with plenty of planes that could launch strikes (Stephanie Contreras- U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

The destructive capabilities of this nuclear-powered behemoth of the seas lie in its air wing, being an aircraft carrier it's basically a giant floating airbase designed to carry the planes closer to where they're needed.

It has its own complement of missiles designed to protect the ship against attack, while it has space for up to 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to do plenty of damage.

This 'floating nuclear city' is one of the largest, most expensive and most dangerous weapons of warfare in the world. It could be a sign that if talks between the US and Iran don't end in a deal Trump likes, they have the military capabilities in the area to do damage.

Trump last week claimed time was 'running out' to get a deal done, and with one of the main US warships in the area the threat of intervention looms large.

Then again, the USS Abraham Lincoln has been the site of an American disaster when it comes to past conflicts in the Middle East, it's where George W Bush declared 'mission accomplished' for the US in Iraq in 2003, when it would last much longer.